Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

The palace of Topkapi close to the Bosphorus Strait has been witness to the greatest glories as well as the most harrowing tragedies in the annals of the Ottoman Empire. Currently the Topkapi palace is a museum, but less than a hundred years ago it was the house of a sultan, his harem, as well as his many attendants. Topkapi was made on top of historical ruins from the Byzantine Emperors. This might happen to be since the Ottomans wished to be seen as a continuance of the glory of historical power, not as simply originators of a brand new one.

In the late fifteenth century, the palace became the primary residence for sultans. The palace name comes from the large cannons displayed outside of its gates. The palace carries on to be situated in the middle of the city, close to renowned mosques such as the Suleymaniye as well as the Blue Mosque, near the Bosphorus. Lots of the wooden buildings vanished or were replaced by newer ones, but the primary buildings of the palace still exist. Initially there were about 700-800 residents in the palace, but over the countless years, the number raised to 5, 000 individuals. The palace has 3 main components: The Old Palace, the New Palace, as well as Yildiz Palace.

The one which is just known as Topkapi is just the New Palace. The Old Palace had been the first construction created in the newly conquered city. It had been damaged by fire in 1514 and then all of the people went to reside in the New Palace. The old one had been partially restored and rebuilt, but fire destroyed it once again throughout the reign of sultan Abdulaziz, who ruled between 1861 – 1876. This time, the Commander-in Chief gate had been placed instead of the palace. The building of the New Palace had been started by Mehmed II and it had been far more luxurious.

All of the sultan private as well as political life was centered in this website. Sultan Mehmed II ordered the initial construction around the 1460 s. In the eighteenth century, a brand new palace had been built in Besiktas in Istanbul. It had been a summer palace for the sultan Selim III. Sultan Mahmud II, who loved to get out from the crowded courtroom, spent plenty of time in this palace.